And the interesting contrast is that there are fewer road deaths on metro highways and byways than in rural Minnesota.

Hard to believe, isn’t it, given the way so many of our fellow Twin Cities road warriors behave?

Of course it’s good news that fewer of us are dead because of driving. However, there are still 414 deaths a year in Minnesota — the equivalent of crashing a jumbo jet into the landscape every year. Think of the news that would make!

And using an average of 400 people on the big planes, the national 2010 road toll of 32,788 is the equivalent of crashing 81 jumbo jets a year.